The Delhi government has ordered the suspension of a director level official of the education department for alleged misrepresentation of facts in an affidavit filed in the Delhi High Court in the matter of Mirambika Free Progress School.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also ordered a vigilance inquiry against officers responsible for filing the affidavit and asked that the document be withdrawn and replaced with a fresh affidavit.

"The directorate of education (DoE) had wrongly stated in the affidavit that recognition to the school was given in 1988, whereas it was actually granted in 1989. The difference is crucial as Mirambika had moved from its location in Aurobindo Ashram to new premises in Ashram, near Lajpat Nagar, in December 1988," an official order said.

The case dates back to 2015, when a group of parents approached the court after the management of Mirambika -an alternative learning school, shifted students from the building they were studying in to a hostel in Sri Aurobindo Ashram.

The management had said the move was necessary because the land on which the school building was made was, in fact, leased to the Sri Aurobindo Education Society to start a college.

The DOE was asked to inspect the premises where the children were shifted, and was also asked to give its opinion in the case. "Though two inspections were conducted earlier but after studying the original documents of the land and recognition of SAES, it came to light that there has been a serious misrepresentation of facts at the Delhi High Court by DoE via an affidavit filed on June 29, 2016," a senior government official said.

According to the order signed by deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, after "carefully perusing the files related to this case it seems apparent that the inspection report and the affidavit filed by the DoE in the court are a deliberate misrepresentation of facts. It is, therefore, necessary to take strong action on this count".